The health conscious should head down to stall number 8 & 9, which sells Yong Tau Foo and vegetarian food respectively. I was sort of beguiled at first, as I wondered why the canteen had two chai png stalls. Until I found out that the stall displaying more than 15 varieties of cooked dishes was actually a vegetarian chai png stall! The stall owners presented me with a plate of mixed rice and a bowl of mock fish with rice noodle soup. Now if you’re vegetarian and often hard-pressed to find a decent stall which serves up a good variety of dishes, stall no. 9 is one stall you don’t want to miss. The mock fish bee hoon was a close replica to the real thing and came with two life-size (excuse the pun) pieces of deep-fried mock fish meant to resemble the generic fried batang chops. One dish to try with your mixed rice or chai png is the fried mock chicken pieces – mix it up with real popcorn chicken and I would’ve never been able to tell them apart. In the words of my associate taste-testers, it tastes like “biotechnology-process manufactured chicken”. Sounds good enough for you? Your call.

     Now no decent Singaporean food establishment will be complete without the ubiquitous Bah Chor Mee (Minced pork noodles) stall. If you like the Chai Chee chain of minced pork noodles, you should be able to taste the resemblance in this one. This bowl of ikan bilis infused goodness passed the taste test favourably. It had everything a good bowl of Bah Chor Mee had. The strong ikan-bilis taste, springy al-dente noodles, a good dose of sambal chlli and generous helpings of sliced stewed mushrooms and minced pork. Pass on the accompanying soup or soup noodles though, it reeks of MSG.

     Here comes the sinful bit. Stall no. 11 doles up a mean Murtabak, although my Muslim friend commented that the Murtabak we had bore greater resemblance to a thick Roti Prata. She contends that a proper Murtabak should have a crust of meat on top, and should be generally bigger. Looks included, this stall still outdoes the infamous Fong Seng one anytime. Encased in the fried dough was a generous helping of well-spiced ground mutton and onions. The flavours were well-balanced, with a hint of piquant sweetness in every bite. The accompanying mutton curry was done to perfection; sans the irritating gristle resulting in palatable meat that slides down your throat, leaving a warm, spicy after-taste that will leave you hankering for more.

     For more halal food, head to stall no. 13, where they serve up fantastic chicken curry, tauhu goreng and roti john. The roti john, in all my honest opinion, deserves special mention. The size of each piece was immaculately bite-sized, and the ratio of egg filling to baguette was spot on. But the magic, as with any roti john, is in the chilli dip. The chilli dip is to-die-for. Sweet, savoury and spicy all packed into a humble red sauce, I was really tempted to ask for a soup bowl of it. Thinking about it, I have a good mind to propose a business partnership with the auntie. Soon.

     Now no foodie experience would be complete without a sweet ending. The fruit juice stall (stall no. 2) recommends their popular AWL, or apple, watermelon and lime juice, and their watermelon soursop. Both are the perfect coolers for a hot sunny day. Alternatively, try the soya chendol and 3-in-1 from stall no. 1. The Soya Chendol would be perfect for those seeking a sweet meal-like liquid snack on-the-go, with ample red beans and green cendol jelly to munch on. The 3-in-1, consists of 3 sweet peanut-sesame glutinous rice balls, beancurd and warm soya milk. The beancurd is smooth, silky and warming, and the sticky glutinous rice balls give the dessert a quirky but fun contrast to the traditional dessert.

     In the wrap up to all that binging, I’ve come to one conclusion. Engineering students obviously don’t talk about their food enough. So excuse me while I do my civic duty because I’m not about to let this gem of a place be kept secret any longer.

Read on for our last canteen review - The Terrace at the NUS School of Business!